Consolidating the Oswego County Primary Care Safety Net

Grantee Name

Northern Oswego County Health Services, Inc.

Funding Area

Other

Publication Date

February 2015

Grant Amount

$400,000

Grant Date:

October 2009 – October 2013

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In 2009, more than 30,000 medically underserved patients in Oswego County were faced with the possibility of losing access to primary care.

Central Square Health Center closed at the end of 2010, dislocating care for 20,000 patients. Oswego County Opportunities’ two primary care practice sites, which served more than 13,000 patients annually, were both under financial duress and in danger of closing. Oswego Hospital, which operated three primary clinics in the county, was also under constant threat of dissolution as it operated at a loss.

In response, three major institutional health care providers in Oswego County —Northern Oswego County Health Services, Inc. (NOCHSI), Oswego Health, and Oswego County Opportunities—formulated a consolidation plan to avoid the closings.

In 2009, the New York Health Foundation awarded a grant to NOCHSI to implement a large-scale restructuring of the county’s primary care providers and maintain access for more than 30,000 patients to essential primary care health services.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

Consolidated five clinics on January 1, 2013;
Conducted due diligence and contractual activities that were necessary to implement the consolidation plan;
Retained the providers employed by the Oswego Community Opportunities and Oswego Health clinics, virtually eliminating disruption to primary care access among the patients;
Recruited three new physicians and six mid-level providers in 2013; and
Created a more sound and secure safety net for community residents.

In June 2012, NOCHSI secured financial viability of the consolidation through a New Access Point grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration.

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